Page 31 of Fang (Lotus MC: San Antonio #2)

M usic plays softly as I put my clothes away. I had some extra time this morning, and so I decided to clean up my room a little. Since I’ve been spending more time with Fang, my room has moved to the back burner. My phone rings. I look down and frown when I see the number is one from the college.

“Hello?” I ask hesitantly.

“Hi, is this Miss Johnson?”

“This is she.”

“This is Maude from the dean’s office. Dean Carter would like to see you.”

“Okay, when?” I ask as I rub my forehead.

“Immediately, if you’re available.”

“Yeah, sure. I’m in my dorm right now, but I can head that way.”

“Perfect. See you shortly.”

My hands shake as I pick up my bag. I ignore my racing heart and the way I can hear it in my ears. I head down to my car and get inside. As I drive, my mind whirls.

Why am I being called to the dean’s office? Did I do something wrong? Did I miss a payment? No, I know for a fact I didn’t, and even if I did, Shelia would have called to remind me.

By the time I pull into the parking lot, my knuckles are white from gripping the steering wheel so long. I shake my hands out as I get out of the car.

Robotically I walk into the building and go to the office.

“H-hi, my name is C-Cami Johnson. I just got a call to come in.”

“That was fast! Thank you for coming in so quickly. Please, come right this way,” the woman behind the desk, who I can only assume is Maude, says.

I follow her down a hall and stop behind her when she pauses at a door. When she knocks on the door, I have to fight back the urge to vomit.

“You can head right in,” she murmurs.

“Thank you,” I say quietly.

On shaky legs, I step into the office.

“Come, sit,” Dean Carter says without standing.

Have manners completely gone out the window?

I bite back my snark and do as she said.

“Thank you for coming here today.” She shuffles a couple of papers around before looking up at me. “Do you have any idea why you were called in today?”

“Actually, ma’am, no, I don’t.”

“A Zak Brohan has filed a complaint against you and your boyfriend.” She frowns.

“Fang something? That can’t be right, but that’s okay, the complaint stands.

He reports that you’ve been harassing him.

That you broke up and you are taking it badly.

He also reported that in an act of revenge, you lied to your new boyfriend and had him beat up. ”

Are you fucking kidding me?

“That’s not true,” I grit out.

She leans back in his chair and crosses her fingers over her stomach. “Then please, explain it to me.”

So I do. I tell her how Zak was my elementary and middle school tormentor.

How he has been sexually harassing me from high school until now.

How I’ve repeatedly asked him to leave me alone, and yet, he still finds me every chance he gets.

By the time I’m done speaking, the dean looks at me with sympathy.

“I’m sorry, Miss Johnson. While I’m sympathetic, this is out of my control. You never filed a report, so there is no record. If you had, then this would be different.”

“But…”

She shakes her head. “At this time, we will have to investigate the claims. You will be suspended from all classes until a decision is made. As for your boyfriend, he’s not allowed on campus.”

I look up, silently begging the tears to stay back until I can leave.

I clear my throat. “I live on campus.”

“I’m sorry, but until a decision has been made, you are not allowed on campus. You will have to find somewhere else to live for the time being.”

I close my eyes and nod. “Okay.”

“I’m sorry, but security will escort you to your dorm for you to gather your things. From there, they will make sure you leave campus. We will call you.”

When I stand, my legs shake so bad that I almost go down. If it weren’t for the arm on the chair, I’d have fallen on my ass.

“Thank you for your time.”

I turn and go to the door. When I open it, a security guard is standing there, waiting.

Perfect. Just fucking perfect.

Like the dean said, the security guard follows me. From my car up to my room. As he waits for me to gather my things, anger builds within me, along with regret.

I regret not turning Zak in. I know I should have, but I had hoped that he would eventually leave me alone. I should have known better. I regret not telling Fang the full extent of Zak’s harassment. If I had, maybe this wouldn’t be happening right now.

Then again, maybe Fang would be locked up behind bars.

Either way, this situation fucking sucks.

How dare he play the victim?

Did Fang break his nose? Absolutely, but only because he wouldn’t take the fucking hint. He kept pushing and pushing and pushing until finally one of us cracked.

No, I refuse for this to play out in his favor.

Zak Brohan doesn’t get to win. Not now, not ever.

But how do I make sure he doesn’t?

Could I post about it on social media and pray it goes viral? The chances of that happening are slim. I don’t know anyone of importance who could get the word out either.

Bailey.

I need Bailey.

If anyone can make a man regret messing with them, it’s her. I bet she knows exactly what to do.

Standing, I gather the last of my things.

“That it?” the security guard asks,

Looking back, I scan the room, taking a snapshot in my memory in case I never come back. I turn back to him and nod.

This is it. Watch out, Zak Brohan. I won’t back down without a fight.

My feet are kicked up on the edge of Savage’s desk, and I’m reclined back in my chair, with my fingers crossed over my stomach.

“How’s it going over at the strip club?” Savage asks, sitting just like I am.

“Good.”

“One of the guys mentioned a new dancer. Said she wasn’t traditional, whatever the fuck that means,” he says, making me chuckle.

I shake my head. “She’s a ballerina.”

“Little far from home, no?”

I shrug. “She came to us, draws in a crowd, and yes, before you ask, she does wear her little slipper things while on stage.”

Savage tilts his head back and laughs. “I would have asked about a tutu, but that works.”

“I’m sure she will find a way to make that work.”

He shakes his head. “Anyway, I talked to Colt.”

“Yeah, how is he?”

His cousin Colt is the one I came down to Texas with from Vegas. He came down because his girl at the time still lived here and was about to have their baby. To say their love story was a little rough at the start would be an understatement.

“Good. Kid’s growing. Kaitlyn’s happy.” He shrugs.

Just hearing that she’s happy makes me smile.

I practically lived at her house when we came into town.

She and I had a few serious talks over those couple of weeks.

She didn’t know if she wanted to leave the only place she had ever called home but in the end decided that Vegas was where they should raise their kids.

“Good. Everything up there going okay?”

“Yeah, he just called to let me know that he and the fam are coming down for a visit. His old lady’s dad’s birthday is coming up, and they want to surprise him.”

“We will have to put a party together for them.”

Colt’s old lady’s dad is the president of Noche Oscura. At first he was against them being together, but apparently, he’s since changed his tune. Which is good for us. While Noche Oscura and we have always been on good terms, shit between our two clubs is better than ever.

“That’s what I said. Anyway, this bullshit isn’t why I called you in here. I wanted your opinion on something.”

“Okay, shoot.”

Before he can say anything, raised voices catch our attention.

“What the hell?” he asks as he stands.

I drop my feet off the desk and stand. I follow him out of the office.

Cami, Viv, and Bailey all stand next to the bar. Each woman looks pissed off. Some more than others.

“What the hell is going on?” Savage demands.

“What are you doing here, Cami? Shouldn’t you be in class?” I ask, looking at my woman.

“I…” Cami looks over at Bailey, who lays her hand on Cami’s.

“Long story short, our girl was suspended from school,” Bailey says bluntly.

I shake my head. “I’m sorry, I don’t think I heard you correctly. Can you repeat that?”

“You heard her correctly,” Viv mutters as she crosses her arms over her chest.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Without thinking about it, I walk over to Cami and pull her away from Bailey and into my arms.

“Are you okay?” I ask quietly.

Cami sniffs as she shakes her head against my chest.

Stupid fucking question.

“How did that happen?” Savage asks.

Bailey launches into the explanation. She tells us how Cami was in her room and got a call to go to the dean’s office. How from there the dean told her that the fuckhead who’s been harassing her filed a complaint against her. As soon as she says that, my heart sinks to the floor.

This is my fault. If I hadn’t punched him in the face. Or maybe if I had taken care of him the first time I knew he was bothering her, none of this shit would be happening.

“It’s not your fault,” Cami murmurs against my chest, reading my mind.

“Isn’t it though?” I ask quietly.

She pulls back and shakes her head. “It’s not. This was a long time coming. If anything, it’s my fault. I kept telling him that I would do something, and I never did.”

“So what’s the plan? Are you just going to let this ride out?” Savage asks.

I turn us so she can face him.

“Actually, that’s why I came here.” She winces. “Well, one of them.”

“What’s up? Is there something we can do to help? Name it,” he tells her.

Gratitude fills me as I stare at my friend.

“It’s not you I need, but Bailey,” Cami says.

Bailey rolls her shoulders back. “Name it.”

“I want to go to the press.” Cami fishes her phone out of her back pocket and hands it over.

“On there I have every text and email Zak has ever sent me. Every rumor that they spread in high school. I talked to Happy, and he sent over the footage of him coming into the club and harassing me. It’s not much, but it’s something. ”

Bailey’s eyes sparkle. “You want to go to the press.”

Cami nods. “I want to go to the press. Do you have anyone I could talk to?”

Bailey smiles. “I know just the guy.”

I squeeze Cami’s hip. “Are you sure about this?”

“Positive.”

“How about you men get back to work? Us women have some plotting to do,” Viv says.

I lean down and kiss the side of her head, right next to her ear. “I’m so fucking proud of you baby.”

Her eyes fall shut. “Thank you.”

Reluctantly, I let her go and move back to Savage. We head back down the hall, to his office.

“You okay?” he asks as he rounds his desk.

I run a hand over my face as I fall into the chair again. “Not the slightest bit.”

“You have a good old lady, man.”

“I know. She’s fucking amazing. Now distract me. Because if you don’t, I’m going to go to campus and kill that motherfucker once and for all.”

Savage smirks. “Let the girls handle it. I’m sure by the time they are done, he’s going to be wishing for death. Now about this run, I had an idea…”